MARVELS
1600 S SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA
Centuries-old artifacts of the Yupik
people, preserved in permafrost, are
emerging as temperatures rise. Now
the rush is on to save these treasures.
since 1900. That’s a direct threat
to coastal sites such as Nunalleq,
which is doubly vulnerable to
wave damage now that the thaw-
ing permafrost is making the land
sink. “One good winter storm and
we could lose this whole site,” lead
archaeologist Rick Knecht says.
When wooden artifacts began
washing up on the beach, commu-
nity leader Warren Jones helped
convince the village’s board of
directors that excavating Nunalleq
was a good idea. Those conversa-
tions grew into a unique collabora-
tion in which the community and
the archaeologists work as partners.
Yupik from the wider area now
drive ATVs to the site to learn more
about their heritage and touch the
artifacts. Workshops at a new cul-
ture and archaeology center cele-
brate Yupik culture then and now.
Jones is proud of the partnership
and looks forward to more discov-
eries at the site.
“I want our kids who are in col-
lege now to run the culture center
and be proud that it’s ours,” he says.THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF NUNALLEQ ON THE SOUTHWEST
coast of Alaska preserves a fateful moment, frozen in time.
The muddy square of earth is full of everyday things the
Indigenous Yupik people used to survive and to celebrate
life here, all left just as they lay when a deadly attack came
almost four centuries ago.
As is often the case in archaeology, a tragedy of times past
is a boon to modern science. Archaeologists have recovered
more than 100,000 intact artifacts at Nunalleq, from typical
eating utensils to extraordinary things such as wooden ritual
masks, ivory tattoo needles, pieces of finely calibrated sea
kayaks, and a belt of caribou teeth. The objects are aston-
ishingly well preserved, having been frozen in the ground
since about 1660.
Climate change is now hammering the Earth’s polar
regions. The result is a disastrous loss of artifacts from little-
known prehistoric cultures—like the one at Nunalleq— all
along Alaska’s shores and beyond.
A massive thaw is exposing traces of past peoples and
civilizations across the northern regions of the globe—from
Neolithic bows and arrows in Switzerland to hiking staffs
from the Viking age in Norway and lavishly appointed tombs
of Scythian nomads in Siberia.
In coastal Alaska, archaeological sites are now threatened
by a one-two punch of rising temperatures and rising seas.
When archaeologists began digging at Nunalleq in 2009,
they hit frozen soil about 18 inches below the surface of
the tundra. Today the ground is thawed three feet down.
That means masterfully carved artifacts of caribou antler,
driftwood, bone, and walrus ivory are emerging from the
deep freeze that has preserved them in perfect condition.
If not rescued, they immediately begin to rot and crumble.
The global level of oceans has risen eight to nine inches
Precious items revealed
by the thaw provide
evidence of Yupik oral
history and customs.
Artifacts from Indige-
nous cultures world-
wide are threatened
by global warming.
KIERAN DODDS